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Brad Keselowski says US not producing enough quality race engineers

Brad Keselowski says there's a shortage of talented racing engineers in the U.S. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Brad Keselowski says when it comes to race engineers, he wants to work with the best in the business, if not the world.

And, according to Keselowski, who drives the No. 2 Ford Fusion for team owner Roger Penske, that means looking outside the United States. That's what Team Penske is doing, anyway, and the team currently lists three vehicle dynamic engineers on staff from Canada.

“It's probably a larger story in itself that the American engineering pool is very shallow right now," said Keselowski after he qualified sixth at Michigan International Speedway on Friday for Sunday's Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. "Penske is moving to any other country [to find them]. We've hired multiple engineers from Europe over the last three or four years and we're pilfering everyone we can in the great country of Canada, so if you know any of them, send them our way.

"It's just very hard to get engineers with the educational background and commitment that we need to be successful at this level from the United States. There's certainly a shortage, not just at Penske, but throughout the garage.”

Mike Pryson
- Mike Pryson covered auto racing for the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen Patriot and M-Live Media Group from 1991 until joining Autoweek as online motorsports editor In 2012.
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